| The New High-Tech Honda Accord with Euro Looks | | | | can watch DVD movies or your digital "home movies" |
| Is it a BMW? Maybe the Audi A-4? Or the VW | | | | and when reversing it switches automatically to R |
| Passat? Le Peugeut? No! It's the new Honda Accord! | | | | mode: parking camera. A real time parking movie. |
| Acc-ord! The name reminds me of French d'Accord! | | | | Everything connected to the on-board info-centre |
| (Agree, OK in English). | | | | including your pertinent driving information: fuel |
| And I agree. The new 8th generation Honda Accord | | | | consumption, average speed, distance to destination |
| looks sleek, dynamic, sporty and has a lower and a | | | | etc. |
| wider track for that solid, planted feel. Look at the new | | | | For the driver there is lot's of buttons to push on |
| low slung, chromed angular grill, the new cool, clear | | | | center console and the steering wheels. Every car |
| projector type headlights and the muscular pronounced | | | | should have multifunction steering wheel. Always two |
| wheels arches housing the 17 inch alloy wheels. | | | | hands on the wheel. |
| The side view also reveals new higher waistline | | | | Under the bonnet (the hood), the main focus is the |
| matching the perfectly raked roof line. The rear break | | | | new, second-generation Honda i-VTEC in-line four |
| light cluster is very BMW'ish. The new Honda Accord | | | | cylinder 2.4 litre 5-speed motor packing 180 |
| takes on asharp European design. Perhaps, the best | | | | horsepower. More powerful than the previous and |
| looking Honda ever. | | | | more frugal. During our test-drive we managed 13 |
| Furthermore the new Honda Accord has been | | | | kilometer per litre on the highway and about 9 liter per |
| upsized. The floor space is now lower and the wheel | | | | kilometer in the city. And the good news. The new |
| base is longer to provide more space, especially for | | | | Accord is E 20 compatible (alcohol & gasoline). |
| the back seat riders. There's enough room back there | | | | That's 20 percent Johnny Walker Red or Stolichnaya |
| to be comfortable, even when front seats are far | | | | and 80 percent unleaded petrol (gasoline) 91or 95. |
| back. The luxurious leather upholstered cabin | | | | Honda Accord's four-wheel independent suspension |
| environment is quietandvibration free thanks to the | | | | features a double-wishbone design in front and a new |
| ANC (Active Noise Control) system and is a very | | | | multilink setup in back. On the road, the Accord is taut |
| comfortable place to be. | | | | without being punishing, and the sedan recovers quickly |
| Our demo, the Honda 2.4 EL (NAVI) the top of 2.4 litre | | | | without any extra bobbing after hitting a bump or dip in |
| models fully loaded with all the goodies: dual-zone | | | | the road. |
| air-conditioning, front power seats with memory, (and | | | | The safety package is comprehensive with dual i-SRS |
| lumbar massage for the driver) electric rear sunshade, | | | | front driver and side airbags including side curtain |
| cruise control and a sporty Formula One inspired | | | | airbags with OPD (occupant position detect ant) |
| paddle shifter on the steering wheel. | | | | system. Plus VSA vehicle stability assist combined with |
| But it was the communication in-car infotainment | | | | ABS and EDB making those slippery curves less |
| centre that caught my attention. A real-time IT | | | | challenging. |
| package: hands-free Bluetooth, CD/MP3/WMA | | | | In conclusion the new Accord feels refined and solid |
| (auxiliary input jack for connecting portable music | | | | and is perfectly suited for Thailand highway cruising or |
| players), and a premium sound system with a | | | | urban driving. Just perfect for a Bangkok-Phuket, |
| subwoofer. Only the high speed internet "Google" | | | | Bangkok-Samiu 8-9 hour long haul, if only the fuel, E20 |
| connection was missing! | | | | gasohol had been cheaper! |
| And the "navigator" the Honda Accord GPS | | | | Latest version of the Accord is ready to take on the |
| connected to a 40 gigabyte hard disc. For the music | | | | prestige imported rivals from Germany. And really |
| fans that's 3.000 songs. Enough music for Phuket to | | | | good news for potential buyers is that all the |
| Bangkok back and fourth! The Accord 2.4 EL "NAVI" | | | | improvements and additional IT features haven't |
| is probably is the best Navigator in the market. | | | | pushed up the cost. |
| The navigation screen is large and easy to read with a | | | | The sticker price for the new Honda Accord 2.4 EL |
| user friendly joystick and command wheel. No more | | | | (NAVI) is 1.6 million THB. The two litre base Accord |
| maps everything is click-on: the highways, (byways) | | | | model is priced 1.2 million THB and the flagship Honda |
| expressways, the u-turns and the bypasses, the | | | | Accord 3.5 G (NAVI) V6 sets you back a cool 2.8 |
| attractions, the "aroy-aroy" restaurants, the hospitals | | | | million THB. |
| and the police stations. When the car is stationary you | | | | |